History Woobie / KitchenNightmares

** Chris used to be a NiceGuy, but the stress of the business destroying both his mental and physical health. He desperately works hard to ensure the restaurant succeed, but the stress causes it to take it out on other.

* Trevor, the former head chef from the Mangia Mangia episode. He starts out being shown as a cocky, indifferent, incompetent (and often violent) prat with a bad attitude, but he eventually caves in and tearfully admits his chronic depression and addiction to crystal meth that is heavily implied to be a result of it after a particularly bad service -- during which Janelle screamed at him [[KickTheDog that his life didn't matter and that he would be better off dead]] -- culminating him in him being sent to Drug Rehab, [[PetTheDog paid for by Ramsay on the condition that the owner at least considers rehiring him after he cleans up]].

* Patti's husband from Fiesta Sunrise is aggressive and confrontational with Vic (to the point of almost starting a fistfight on camera), but not only is he paying his own bills, he's putting money into the restaurant to keep it from failing, and even paying Vic's bills because of the latter's incompetence.

* The owner's husband in the Fiesta Sunrise episode comes off as aggressive and confrontational with the manager (to the point of almost starting a fistfight on camera), but it is revealed that not only is he paying his own bills, but he is putting money into the restaurant to keep it from failing and even paying the manager's bills because of the manager's incompetence.

* The owner's husband in the ''Fiesta Sunrise'' episode comes off as aggressive and confrontational with the manager (to the point of almost starting a fistfight on camera), but it is revealed that not only is he paying his own bills, but he is putting money into the restaurant to keep it from failing and even paying the manager's bills because of the manager's incompetence.

* Fay from ''Zayna's Flaming Grill''. She obviously ''needs'' help, but is so afraid of failure she lashes out at everyone (including her own niece). When one realizes that the main reason she lashes out so much is because she's afraid of losing the restaurant (which has been her dream for decades), she becomes more sympathetic.

* The family in the Mediterranean Kabob Room - the children don't have any money, and are working at the restaurant ''for free'', seven days a week, and the stress and suppressed resentment really shows in how they treat each other.

* The staff at Zeke’s are forced to serve gross and undercooked food and if they dare to speak up, they get talked and ridiculed by Darryl and Ellen. What makes is worse is that the show not only does the show make it clear that the staff at Zeke’s clearly care, they also don’t get any real apology from [[KaramaHoudini Darryl and Ellen.]]

* Clive from the Brownstone Bistro. After his 14-year-old son was killed in a drive-by shooting, he threw himself into his work as owner of the restaurant in an attempt to cope with his grief, only for the quality of the food and service to deteriorate until the restaurant was on the brink of closing. His {{Workaholic}} tendencies were also causing him to not have any time for his family, to the point that his wife was considering a divorce. Needless to say, watching him and the restaurant's staff pull themselves together with Gordon's help is beautiful to watch, and brings a tear to the eye.

* Trevor, the former head chef from the Mangia Mangia episode. He starts out being shown as a cocky, indifferent, incompetent (and often violent) prat with a bad attitude, but he eventually caves in and tearfully admits his chronic depression and addiction to crystal meth that is heavily implied to be a result of it after a particularly bad service -- during which Janelle screamed at him [[KickTheDog that his life didn't matter and that he would be better off dead]] -- culminating him in him [being sent to Drug Rehab, [[PetTheDog paid for by Ramsay on the condition that the owner at least considers rehiring him after he cleans up]].

* Trevor, the former head chef from the Mangia Mangia episode. He starts out being shown as a cocky, indifferent, incompetent (and often violent) prat with a bad attitude, but he eventually caves in and tearfully admits his chronic depression and [[spoiler:addiction to crystal meth that is heavily implied to be a result of it]] after a particularly bad service -- during which Janelle screamed at him [[KickTheDog that his life didn't matter and that he would be better off dead]] -- culminating him in him [[spoiler:being sent to Drug Rehab]], [[PetTheDog paid for by Ramsay on the condition that the owner at least considers rehiring him after he cleans up]].

** From the same episode there's Daniel: his own bad attitude makes it hard to feel sorry for him when David threatens him; but when one remembers he was forced into a job he didn't want after his father stole $250,000 from him, it's hard to blame him for being so bitter.

* Peter from "The Seascape". It's pretty clear [[MyBelovedSmother his mother]] is more than a little overbearing and his meek mannerisms saw him getting abused by his JerkAss chef, to the point where he was cleaning the kitchen for them, even after a (rather pathetic) attempt to order them to do something. Then he reveals he was a WellDoneSonGuy and even after getting pointers and tips from Ramsay is still clearly a nervous wreck.

* Akira from "Sushi Ko", he was so distraught at his failure with his restaurant it destroyed his self-esteem and he could barely speak to Ramsay and didn't feel worthy of the chef's jacket.

* Lenin from Oscar's. If ever you need an illustration of the difference between someone who just drinks a little too often, and someone who's in the depths of full-blown alcoholism, look no further. The pressure of running the kitchen had gotten so bad that he relied on alcohol just to get him through service. Even when Gordon forbade him from drinking in the next night's service, Lenin got a waitress to smuggle more alcohol into the kitchen under Gordon's nose, illustrating just how dependent on alcohol he had become, and forcing Gordon to give him a talking-to about how his addiction was screwing over the restaurant. And ''then'', the night after that, Lenin collapsed in service had had to be rushed to hospital, where check-ups revealed that his liver was damaged. Not seriously, thankfully, and he did ultimately make a recovery, but it was clear that he would have to draw a line under his culinary career for his own good. And as pointed out in the episode, 1 in 10 chefs will undergo substance abuse issues during their career -- and not all of them will be as fortunate to recover as Lenin was.

* Melissa from Campania's, she's funding her husband's entire business even putting her house on the line and how does her husband thank her? By not taking the business seriously and cheating on her with one of his waitresses

* Akira from "Sushi Ko", he was so distraught at his failure with his restaurant it destroyed his self-esteem and he could barely speak to Ramsay and didn't feel worthy of the chef's jacket

* Lenin from Oscar's. If ever you need an illustration of the difference between someone who just drinks a little too often, and someone who's in the depths of full-blown alcoholism, look no further. The pressure of running the kitchen had gotten so bad that he relied on alcohol just to get him through service. Even when Gordon forbade him from drinking in the next night's service, Lenin got a waitress to smuggle more alcohol into the kitchen under Gordon's nose, illustrating just how dependent on alcohol he had become, and forcing Gordon to give him a talking-to about how his addiction was screwing over the restaurant. And ''then'', the night after that, Lenin collapsed in service had had to be rushed to hospital, where check-ups revealed that his liver was damaged. Not seriously, thankfully, and he did ultimately make a recovery, but it was clear that he would have to draw a line under his culinary career for his own good. And as pointed out in the episode, 1 in 10 chefs will undergo substance abuse issues during their career -- and not all of them will be as fortunate to recover as Lenin was.

* John of ''Mama Maria's''. He establishes fairly early on that he was pressed into the family business at an early age but doesn't really show any resentment toward his parents over this: he's merely struggling to keep the restaurant and his family legacy alive out of love for his parents, and stuck in his ways. Gordon points this out and shows that even his staff know more than him, and helps show him that he can still preserve what he loved about his parents but move on from their methods and style.

* Celine in La Frite. Poor girl is trying her best in expediting the kitchen and managing the restaurant, but head chef Martin refuses to acknowledge her existence [[HeManWomanHater (even though he has no trouble answering to a man)]], her brother Alex ignores her to an almost resentful level, and her dad keeps nagging that she needs to work together with him... which isn't easy when he's brushing off every attempt she does at making peace with him. It goes to the point she walks behind the restaurant to cry in secret because of the pressure, and it's heartbreaking. Luckily, due to Gordon's intervention, Alex began coming around and got over his issues with his sister; working together with her in harmony. Martin... not so much.

* Clive from the Brownstone Bistro. After his 14-year-old son was killed in a drive-by shooting, he threw himself into his work as owner of the restaurant in an attempt to cope with his grief, only for the quality of the food and service to deteriorate until the restaurant was on the brink of closing. His {{Workaholic}} tendencies were also causing him to not have any time for his family, to the point that his wife was considering a divorce. Needless to say, watching him and the restaurant's staff pull themselves together with Gordon's help is beautiful to watch, and brings a tear to the eye.

* Clive from the Brownstone Bistro. After his 14-year-old son was killed in a drive-by shooting, he threw himself into his work as owner of the restaurant in an attempt to cope with his grief, only for the quality of the food and service to deteriorate.

* Clive from the Brownstone Bistro. After his 14-year-old son was killed in a drive-by shooting, he threw himself into his work as owner of the restaurant, only for the quality of the food and service to deteriorate.

* Brenda in ''Zayna's Flaming Grill''. She owns the restaurant with her aunt, knowing that she lacks the experience to do it herself. However, her aunt, Fay, is so afraid of losing the business (which has been her dream for years if not decades) that she insists everything be done her way and becomes incredibly confrontational. At first Fay looks like many of those jerks from other episodes, but further discussion with Fay reveals that she is doing it out of fear - she's so afraid of messing up that she lashes out in anger. (Making her a JerkassWoobie)